‘I had never even heard of Benjamin Pavard before Stuttgart set the focus on him, let alone knew what type of player he was.’
Photograph: Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty Images

I will never forget Benjamin Pavard’s debut for Stuttgart. It came on 3 October 2016, a few months after he had joined from Lille and at a time when everyone at the club was still getting used to life in the second division having been relegated from the Bundesliga the previous season.

We were playing SpVgg Greuther Fürth at home and it is no exaggeration to say Benjamin had a dream start to life in Germany. We won 4-0 and, as well as scoring our third goal, he set up the first, for Carlos Mané, with an incredible pass. Benjamin was stood at centre-back and played a perfectly-weighted ball right though midfield and practically on to Carlos’s toe. It was the type of pass you’d expected to see from an experienced playmaker, not a young defender, and as I watched from the stands I thought there was no way Benjamin could be that good. I was wrong.

Benjamin has been a revelation at Stuttgart and it is his technique that has always stood out. It is remarkably complete for a 22-year-old and one of the reasons why he earned a call-up to France’s World Cup squad. That decision caused surprise, particularly in France, but to people who have watched him perform in Germany, and especially those of us who have worked with him at Stuttgart, it made sense, and after his wonder goal against Argentina it appears Benjamin is finally getting the wider recognition he deserves.

I have never seen Benjamin strike a ball like that before but, equally, it did not shock me

I have never seen Benjamin strike a ball like that before but, equally, it did not shock me: as I said, he has wonderful technique. What impressed me more was the courage he showed taking it on in the first place. France were 2-1 down and under incredible pressure to get back into the game. It would have made sense, therefore, if Benjamin, having found himself at the edge of Argentina’s area, decided to look for Kylian Mbappé or Olivier Giroud. Instead he trusted in himself to take full responsibility and deliver a shot with incredible slice, power and direction. The best goal of the World Cup so far? I am biased, but yes, it gets my vote.

I had never even heard of Benjamin before Stuttgart set the focus on him, let alone knew what type of player he was. But someone mentioned there was this young defender who was struggling to get opportunities at Lille and that we may want to check him out. So I watched some videos, liked what I saw, and made contact with a journalist who covers Ligue 1 and asked for his advice.

He told me Benjamin was a real talent and the only reason he wasn’t playing at Lille was because the manager there preferred more experienced players. So my colleague went to Lille to watch Benjamin in training and having also liked what he saw, recommended him to our then sporting director. Then came that debut and a career trajectory that has gone in one direction – up.

Benjamin did not miss a single second of action upon our return to the Bundesliga last season and was a key reason why we finished with the second-best defence, behind Bayern Munich. He was brilliant at centre-back, having become a permanent presence there following the arrival of Tayfun Korkut as manager in January. Before that, Benjamin had also played at right-back and defensive midfield because of his versatility, but Tayfun decided he wanted to build his defence around his best defender, and that was Benjamin, someone who is not only good on the ball but strong and disciplined without it. The decision proved to be an excellent one.

‘He trusted in himself to take full responsibility and deliver a shot with incredible slice, power and direction.’ Photograph: Kieran McManus/BPI/Rex Shutterstock

Benjamin is a humble guy but also someone who is confident in his ability and knows what it takes to reach the top, hence his decision to leave France and move to Germany’s second division. It was a risky move but one that has fully paid off and now, aged 22, he is preparing to play in a World Cup quarter-final.

Friday’s quarter-final against Uruguay will be a real test for Benjamin, not only because he is still coming to terms with playing at right-back at the very highest level but because he will come up against two world-class strikers in Luis Suárez and possibly Edinson Cavani. They are a real partnership and one that is key to Uruguay’s chances of progressing at this tournament.

As seen in the win against Portugal, Uruguay’s plan is a simple but effective one – be strong at the back, hard-working in midfield and get the ball to the two men in attack as quickly and as often as possible. That makes sense given the resources Óscar Tabárez has at his disposal and ensures France will not have it all their way when the sides meet in Nizhny Novgorod.

Nevertheless I expect France to win because, on the whole, they have the better individuals. Among them the right-back, a player who has come out of nowhere to become one of the best young talents in world football. Remember the name – Benjamin Pavard.